


Starfish

by distractionpie



Category: Newsies (1992)
Genre: Gen, POV David Jacobs, POV Third Person Limited, Sharing a Bed, Sleepovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 19:21:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3300719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/distractionpie/pseuds/distractionpie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>David and Les make a discovery and a plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Starfish

The rain had been pouring down on Manhattan for days now. Drains and gutters overflowed, and going to the street felt more like a stream. There'd been an article in the Sun the other day suggesting that if the rain kept up like this then the Hudson might burst it's banks.

It wasn't a good sort of weather for selling. A little rain could be managed, you stuck your papes under your coat and you kept under awnings and in doorways, but this kind of rainfall permeated everything, leaving even the most resilient of newsies drenched, bedraggled, and hawking little more than pulp. And it was a hell of a lot harder to find people to sell too when nobody would go outside unless they absolutely had to, and certainly weren't going to hang about in the downpour to buy a paper.

Jack had given in early, and allowed David to lead him back to the Jacob's home to dry off a little and also spend some time chatting with Les, who Mrs. Jacobs had decreed wouldn't be out selling until the weather had cleared up, but who apparently missed Jack's company, and was driving his whole family crazy, cooped up in the apartment with nothing to amuse himself with. Personally Jack was surprised that Mrs Jacobs had let David out to sell, especially when he was hardly turning enough profit to make it worthwhile, but David kept showing up at the distribution centre in the mornings, and Jack knew better than to question him too hard about it.

It was a relief to get out of the rain, and when Mrs. Jacobs saw the state of them she was quick to hustle both David and Jack into dry clothes, Jack's being a mix of David's things and his father's based on what she felt would fit best.

The soup was warm and the company good. Everybody had been getting back to the lodging house early these past few days and they'd all be getting sick of one another's company, so it was nice to get away for a few hours.

The dark rainclouds let little light through though, and it meant that Jack hardly noticed the night falling until Sarah observed with a start, "Goodness, it's half-past eleven."

Everybody immediately looked over to the clock on the wall.

“Wow, it’s gonna late,” Jack said, setting up from his chair. “I’d best be off.”

"Jack, you couldn't possibly," Mrs. Jacobs said immediately. "It's far too late and the weather is still so awful. You'd be soaked right before going to sleep. No, bunk in with David."

Jack hesitated and David tugged at his sleeve. "Yes, she's right. And you'll save time by not walking all the way back, so you'll be able to sleep a little longer.

"Alright," Jack said, allowing David to lead him to the curtained off area where the Jacobs boys slept.

"It'll be a tight fit," David said, and Jack nodded.

"It's no bother," he said quietly, so that Sarah and Mrs Jacobs on the other side of the room wouldn't be able to hear. "I can go out the window, tell your mother I just left real early, that way she don't worry."

David frowned and grabbed Jack's sleeve. "You'll do no such thing," he said, annoyed, then seemed to realise he was speaking too loudly and dropped his voice. "I didn't mean it like that. We'll all fit, I'm just saying that it won't be so comfortable for you."

Jack laughed a little. "I've bunked in with guys plenty o' times, don't you worry about me."

David looked sceptical as unfastened his tie and began getting ready for bed. "Really? Only I noticed when I was there that you've got your own bunk, where most of the guys are doubled up."

Jack shrugged, following David's lead and unclipping his borrowed braces. "That's on account of bein' one of the oldest. But I'm sure I can go back to sharin' for a night if it saves me from a drenchin'."

"If you say so," David said, and the both squished into the bed and settled down to sleep.

*

Jack was woken by a far more aggressive degree of shaking than Kloppman usually employed, and experienced a moment of disorientation before he recognised the voice saying, "Jack, its morning, wake up. Jack. Wake up. Jack. The rain has stopped Jack, I can go outside today," as belonging to Les.

"Outside?" Jack grumbled, without opening his eyes.

"The rain seems to have blown over, finally," David said. "You can see blue in the sky again now."

Jack sat up slowly, stretching out his limbs to wake them up one by one. "That's nice..."

Les laughed. "You don't like mornings, do you Jack?"

Before Jack could answer David cut in with, "Evidently not. Clearly your idea about saying you'd got up early this morning was improving the truth even more than usual, since not only would it be untrue, it seems like it'd be impossible."

"I can get up when I want to," Jack protested.

"Really?" said David, "Because I'm pretty sure Les has been pestering you for about ten minutes now, and you've only just responded to him."

"That' 'cause Les ain't a pest," Jack countered. "He's very... calming." It was weak, even for first thing in the morning.

David snorted. "Sure Jack. Anyway, we've figured out why nobody shares a bunk with you."

Jack frowned. "I told you that last night," he said. "It's ‘cause I'm older."

Les shook his head at a dizzying pace. "Nuh-uh, Jack. It's ‘cause you sleep like a starfish."

Jack frowned. "A what?"

Les spread him limbs in a position that Jack supposed could vaguely resemble a star, if you squinted and you'd never seen a star before. "A starfish," he said, "All spread out."

"Well ain't I never seen a starfish," Jack said, "So I don't know if I can believe that."

There was a pause. "Really? Never?" Les said.

Jack shook his head, attempting to tamp down his embarrassment. He knew Les didn't mean any harm by it. "What sort of fishmonger do I need to go to then to find them then, since you're the expert," he said.

Les laughed. "You don't eat them," he said. He turned to David and said, "Jack's never seen a starfish before," as if David hadn't been standing listening to their entire conversation. "Can we-,"

David cut him off. "Jack's got selling to do Les, I'm sure he doesn't want to spend his day looking at fish."

Les turned to Jack and hit him with the same wide eyed hopeful look he used when selling. You'd think Jack would be immune to it by now, but no. "Jack, you want to go to the aquarium, don't you? It'll be fun, you can see starfish and all sorts of other fish and-"

Jack turned to David, raising his eyebrows. "It's that not expensive," David said. "Ten cents a ticket."

Jack nodded, and turned back to Les. "Well I ain't gonna go the aquarium today," he said. Les looked crestfallen and Jack waved a hand and said, "Hey, I ain't finished. I said I ain't gonna go to the aquarium today, because I got some sellin' to catch up on after all this rain, and so have you and Davey. Anyway, I ain't the only one who ain't never seen no starfish before, so you come out today and you tell everybody about this 'quarium of yours, cos I bet Crutchy and Mush and who knows who else'd want to hear about it."

Les beamed.

Jack turned to David with a smirk, " Whaddya say Davey, official newsboys’ union daytrip to the New York Aquarium? If enough of us turn up it might even make the papers."

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I got some gorgeous artwork for this fic as part of the newsies prompfest remix - I would 100% recomend checking it out over here: http://jackcowboyhero.tumblr.com/post/128113162637/from-the-editor-this-is-an-illustration-for


End file.
